Knitted fabrics find utility in a variety of personal, residential and industrial applications. For example, knitted fabrics are often incorporated into automotive upholstery due to their aesthetic appearance, feel, and ability to be cleaned. Knitted fabrics are typically more elastic than woven and nonwoven fabrics and may be capable of stretching up to 400% from their relaxed position depending upon the type of material and knitting pattern employed. Significant and repeated loading on the knitted fabric, such as when a driver or passenger sits in the seat of a vehicle, may result in stretching of the knitted fabric to a point at which it cannot fully recover. Over time the knitted fabric may acquire diminished functional and aesthetic properties due to its use in this type of application.
Support systems can be incorporated into automotive seating applications in order to prevent the knitted fabric from being damaged through deformation brought about by repeated use. In this regard, a scrim or backing layer may be applied to the knitted fabric to form a laminate. The scrim functions to prevent excessive stretching of the knitted fabric so that does not become wrinkled or otherwise deformed due to repeated or excessive stress imparted thereto. The laminated knitted fabric and scrim can be subsequently applied to the top of a piece of foam which is in turn installed into the automotive seat. The foam functions to provide support and cushioning to the user of the seat while the knitted fabric functions to provide the seat's aesthetic look and feel.
Automotive seating applications may also employ a tensioning system that is designed to support the weight of the user and provide a desired firmness. The tensioning system can include a wire mesh framework that is tensioned through the use of one or more coil springs. The knitted fabric is supported by the wire framework and again provides the surface that the user contacts when sitting. The tensioning system may impart sufficient tension to the knitted fabric so that the knitted fabric is only stretched a certain amount during use of the automotive seat. Further, the tensioning system imparts elasticity to the knitted fabric so that once weight is removed from the knitted fabric it is drawn back into its initial position. Wrinkles or other imperfections in the knitted fabric are removed through this tensioning so that the knitted fabric maintains a pleasing visual appearance. Although suitable for their intended purposes, additional components and systems incorporated into seating applications with knitted fabrics necessitate additional cost, weight and complexity.
Efforts have been made to incorporate both the necessary aesthetic and functional properties required by an application into a single fabric. This arrangement thus avoids the additional cost, weight and complexity of components and systems that are present in addition to the fabric in the application. For example, an office chair may include a fabric made of a solution dyed textured polyester yarn that is combined with an elastomeric monofilament yarn to form a woven open mesh design. This fabric can then be incorporated into an open frame of the chair to support the weight of the user. The elastomeric monofilament yarn functions to provide suspension and elasticity to the fabric so that it springs back into its original shape after the user's weight is removed. One such office chair that utilizes elastomeric monofilament yarn in its design is an AERON® chair provided by Herman Miller, Inc. having offices located at 855 East Main Avenue, Zeeland, Mich., United States of America.
Although cooler in the summer, the open mesh designs of such chairs do not provided as much warmth in the winter as do office chairs of other types. Further, the elastomeric monofilament yarns in office chairs of this type are contacted by the user when utilizing the chair. Although desirable with respect to strength and durability, elastomeric monofilament yarns in office chairs may cause excess friction on the clothing of a user of the chair. Such friction may function to damage or otherwise accelerate wear of the user's clothing. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art with respect to fabrics used in applications that provide both aesthetic and functional elements.